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BMW To Soon Have Electric Variants For All Models
BMW is comfortable with going electric, unlike Audi. The Bavarian automaker has proved this by taking its first major steps towards electrification with its i3 electric city car and the i8 electric sports car. Going forward, however, BMW is ready to embrace electrification to a much greater extent.
Also Read: Audi Abandons R8 E-Tron Electric Car Project
Speaking to Autocar, BMW's board member for development, Herbert Diess has stated that all BMW cars will soon sport some form of electrification. Meaning, most BMW cars will soon be either hybrids or all electric.
The reason behind this is quite obvious. As countries and regions enforce ever stringent emission standards automakers find it ever harder to achieve the new targets. As we all know, Europe Union leads the charge in this regard, and its goal for 2020 will be the most difficult to meet for car manufacturers.
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"Europe is five to seven years ahead of the rest of the world in terms of where it is pushing us," Diess said. EU is looking to reach a fleet average carbon emission figure of 95 g/km by 2020. In comparison, China has set that number at 119 g/km and Japan at 117 g/km 102 g/km. The U.S on the other hand, has a target of 119 g/km by 2025.
What makes reducing emission figures and improving fuel economy even more challenging is the need to maintain driving pleasure. And one can only extract so much power & performance from a conventional engine without increasing emission. The only way to make a car fast and fun to drive, while keeping it clean is to look towards electrification. Hybrid supercars such as the McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder are already moving in that direction.
"Electricification will be a central thread in what we do, be it plug-in hybrid, hybrid or full electrification. The i8 shows what's possible even below 50g/km, but we will also offer all standard models with entry-level electrification. We will try to use the modular kit developed for the i3 and i8on a kit basis," Diess said.
Diess said that European buyers will be the first in the world to witness the first great wave of electric and hybrid cars. But if the entire European region goes electric it won't be long before the rest of the world follows.
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